24 | Advancing Seed in Alberta As with any significant change, Pawlik notes that this new system will demand the acceptance of “a certain level of ambiguity,” as well as the “patience to ensure the system evolves to best serve the needs of the participating stakeholders.” Tom Steve, general manager for the Alberta Wheat and Barley commissions, notes the idea of value creation hasn’t come without controversy. “I hear from farmers that wheat is a lower margin commodity on their farm, but they don’t want to change anything. There’s a fundamental contradiction there. Of course, no one wants to pay more for seed if they don’t get an immediate return — they have a legitimate concern there,” he says. “But here’s the thing — we need to look longer term at where our competition is coming from, and where the yields and quality of our product need to go to be competitive long term. And the only way to do that is through value creation.” One of the only hurdles Merryweather can think of is getting agreement on the development of one system to track all aspects of the trailing royalty from seed purchase to future use of the variety. “However, we have done this with midge tolerant wheat stewardship and on single-use agreements, so it is not that difficult,” he reports. “However, we will need to be very transparent about how the system works so that there is trust in the system by all who use it. [We will also need to get] agreement from all interested parties to ensure that trailing royalties are fair and equitable.” At this point, Hadley notes the task force is now reaching out to farming organizations such as Grain Famers of Ontario and Alberta Wheat Commission, and meetings and presentations are Tom Steve is general manager of the Alberta Wheat and Barley commissions. being scheduled. “Producers need clarity about how it will work,” he says. “The producer groups want to be sure that if they are paying more, they are getting more value…They just want the assurance that this program will actually increase the number of breeders and breeding programs going forward.” Pawlik is among those who believe that will indeed occur. “We can expect, over time, an expanded diversity of materials to make their way through the research stages and into new product development,” he says. “We will also see greater utilization of tools like marker assisted selection, double hapolids and, hopefully, new plant breeding innovations such as genome editing, for example.” Treena Hein ALLIANCE S E E D 9 Centre Street, Box 3030,Enchant,AB, T0K 0V0 Greg Stamp CCA : 403-634-1586 • [email protected] www.stampseeds.com • Twitter: @stampseeds WHEAT HRSW: • AAC Redberry – NEW! • AACViewfield – NEW! • CDC LandmarkVB – NEW! • AAC Elie • AAC Brandon • CDC Go CNHR: Faller – NEW! HRSW: • AAC Cirrus – NEW! • AAC Iceberg CPS: • SY Rowyn – drought resistant – NEW! • CDCTerrain – NEW! • Penhold GPWheat: • KWS Alderon – NEW! SoftWheat • AAC ParamountVB – NEW! • AAC Sadash Durum • CDC Precision – NEW! • CDC Alloy – NEW! • AAC Succeed – NEW! • AAC Spitfire FABA BEAN: • Fabelle – NEW! •Vertigo – NEW! • FB 9-4 • Snowbird BARLEY: • AB CattleLac 6 Row Feed – NEW! • CDC Austenson Feed • AC Metcalfe Malt • CDC Frasier Malt • CDC Bow Malt MAPLE PEA: • AAC Liscard– NEW! YELLOW PEA: • CDC Inca – NEW! • CDC Chrome – NEW! • AAC Lacombe GREEN PEA: CDC Greenwater – NEW! LENTIL: CDC Proclaim CL FLAX: •Topaz – NEW! • AAC Prairie Sunshine – NEW! • CDC Dorado -Yellow – NEW! • Prairie Sapphire • CDC Plava – Short Season HYBRID FALL RYE: • KWS Daniello – NEW! • KWS Propower – NEW! (ForageVariety) • Guttino WINTERWHEAT: • AACWildfire – NEW! • AAC Gateway • AAC Elevate ALSO OFFERING: Corn: Thunder Seed & BrettYoung Elite – Grain, silage & grazing Canola: BrettYoung Soybean: Thunder Seed & BrettYoung Inoculants Cover Crops & Grazing Blends: • Bullseye Radish • HairyVetch • Crimson Clover • Ryegrass • Hybrid Brassica • Millet • Sorghum •Turnip FALL RYE: • Prima Select Status Plot Production • Gentle Cleaning Facility High SpeedYear-RoundTreating Facility • Certified Crop Advisors